“Most people around the world believe that it has been a
fairly parochial jurisdiction,” Redford, 46, said during an
interview at Bloomberg headquarters in New York. “We are now
going through a generational change in politics and in business.
We have an ability to embrace the world in a way that we’ve
never done.”

Alberta, one of only two land-locked Canadian provinces, is
turning a farming and cowboy image on its head as the booming
energy sector attracts global attention to its oil sands and
welcomes newcomers to fill jobs.

The immigrant population of Calgary is growing faster than
any Canadian city as oil companies fill as many as 100,000 jobs
over the next eight years, according to a study by Deloitte and
Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada.

“I came here because it’s easy to get a job,” said Hong
Wei Pei, a 36-year-old accounting clerk from China who arrived
in Calgary with her husband and two children in 2009. “Most
people here are immigrants and the locals are friendly and
welcoming. If you work hard you’ll be successful.”

Alberta has led economic growth in Canada in recent years
and per-capita gross domestic product, at C$70,824 ($69,462)
last year, is 75 percent higher than Quebec’s and tops among
Canadian provinces....MORE